June 2009

Recently I received a package of pot inserts from Jeff at Kianga, the company that makes the Ups-A-Daisy planter inserts. What a great product! Basically, it slips inside large pots and makes a false bottom so that you need less soil and thus make the pot lighter. The Ups-A-Daisy inserts are orange, rigid plastic, disks […]

This year has been really hectic for me, hence it has been really bad for my plants. These past couple of days I have been doing a lot of work around my little garden. Mainly cutting back the plants that should have been cut back months ago, replacing the plants that should have been replaced […]

A couple of months ago I posted about a story that was making its way around the internet about growing herbs and salad greens in rain gutters tweaked to hold plants in them. Cat, a friend of mine from law school, was in the midst of rennovating her backyard and decided to include a few […]

In honor of picking my first (and only) peach from my tree this season, I thought I would share this recipe for a summer-ized version of spring rolls from Vegetarian Times Magazine. I’ve tweaked it a bit to use the ingredients I had on hand. My peach tree, underplanted with chocolate cosmos Peach and Basil […]

Here are some varieties of tomatoes that mature in 60 days or less, which means that most parts of the Northern Hemisphere can still have home grown tomatoes, regardless of whether you started your vegetable garden “on time” or not. Photo of Brad Wenner’s ‘Red Robin’ tomatoes growing in coffee cans Tiny Tim (45 days […]

Note that I said “need.” While all the plants listed below are attractive, the reason they made this list is that they provide something extremely useful for your balcony or patio… Catnip Scientists have determined that an essential oil in catnip attracts green lacewings. And green lacewings eat aphids like they are the tastiest thing […]

I am soooo far behind in my blog reading. Bad for me, but good for you! Lots of posts in my feed reader gives me ample opportunity to point out some great reads you might have missed: Attract Birds To Your Garden With The Right Plants and Stylish Bird Feeders – Jayme of aHa Modern […]

I occasionally check Smith and Hawken’s website for inspiration and am almost always rewarded with a fresh idea, like this one: Not only are the windowboxes themselves unusual and attractive, but they are planted with an interesting display of succulents AND the whole thing has been displayed in an innovative way. We balcony and patio […]

All of these roses are easy to care for (disease resistant resistant, stellar performers, etc) and suitably compact for growing in containers in a small garden. From top to bottom and left to right: (1) All the Rage (2) Firecracker (3) Grandma’s Blessing (4) Superhero (5) Sweet Fragrance (6) Yellow Submarine (7) Little Mischief (8) […]

In case you haven’t visited the Life on the Balcony Flickr group, you might want to mosey on over. There are lots of great photos added to the pool, like some of these… Photo by Ari Mall How neat is this canoe, repurposed as a vegetable planter?! I love how artfully the canoe has been […]

In Small-Space Container Gardens, Fern Richardson walks you through the process of beautifying a small space–even when you have a similarly small budget. Learn how to attract wildlife, grow vertically, harvest your own food, and so much more!